System and method for offering and managing online purchasing card transactions

ABSTRACT

A purchase card system configured in accordance with the invention offers purchase card products that facilitate online purchases of life sciences research products and/or services via an e-commerce application. The acquisition and use of such purchase card products complies with mandated procurement, spending, and appropriations rules, regulations, and laws, such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the Anti-Deficiency Act, and the Department of Defense “bona fide needs” rule.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 60/640,307, filed Dec. 30, 2004 (the entire contentof which is incorporated by reference herein).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to online purchasing ande-commerce systems. More particularly, the present invention relates toan online purchasing card program that can be used by government andacademic customers who must abide by strict procurement, purchasing, andacquisition rules, laws, or regulations. The card has been designed foruse by all customers, but many of the features lend added value to theU.S. Government buyer.

BACKGROUND

The prior art is replete with “prepaid” or “gift” cards that can be usedby customers of retail and service establishments as a form of paymentin lieu of cash or credit card transactions. For example, manydepartment stores, restaurants, and coffee shops offer prepaid cards totheir customers. Historically, prepaid or gift cards have not been madeavailable for certain types of goods and products, such as life scienceresearch products, biological reagents, laboratory specimens, and thelike, particularly when a significant number of the purchasers of suchproducts are government purchasers, academic purchasers, or otherpersons or entities that are governed by certain procurement,appropriations, and spending rules and regulations. For example,government purchasers may be restricted by regulations and laws (such asthe Federal Acquisition Regulation, the Anti-Deficiency Act, or the“bona fide needs” rule), which may prohibit the spending of governmentfunds in advance, require competitive bidding for purchases that exceeda specified amount, or mandate “fair and reasonable” pricing for allpurchases.

Most government purchasing departments charge their end users anadministrative fee to buy products on behalf of the government. Theadministrative fee for a given purchase can represent a significantexpenditure of funds that could otherwise be spent on additionalproduct. Unfortunately, these administrative fees are assessed for eachnew purchase made by such end users.

Furthermore, the market for life science research products and servicesis becoming increasingly competitive, particularly for “commodity”products such as oligonucleotides. In this regard, traditionalpurchasing models (including typical e-commerce models) may notsufficiently streamline the product purchasing routine for customers,provide a means to fully utilize available funding, encourage purchasersto use online ordering, foster brand loyalty, or establish long termpurchase commitments.

Accordingly, it is desirable to have a purchase card system forgovernment and academic purchasers, where the system is in compliancewith mandated procurement, spending, and appropriations rules,regulations, and laws. In addition, it is desirable to have a purchasecard system for life sciences research products and services thatprovides a legal and ethical means to avoid excessive administrativefees associated with the purchase of certain products. Furthermore,other desirable features and characteristics of the present inventionwill become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and theappended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings andthe foregoing technical field and background.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A purchase card system for life sciences research products and servicesis provided in a manner that fully complies with certain governmentrules and regulations related to appropriations. Certain features andcharacteristics of the purchase card system are specifically designed toaddress legal and ethical issues surrounding the expenditure ofgovernment funds. Therefore, a government or academic purchaser canacquire and use a purchase card product offered by the system whilesatisfying mandated procurement, spending, and appropriations rules andregulations.

The above and other aspects of the invention may be carried out in oneform by a method for facilitating purchase card product transactions fora user account, especially a government or academic user in compliancewith procurement, spending, and appropriations rules, regulations, andlaws that are applicable to the user account, especially mandated rules,regulations, and laws. The method involves receiving, via an e-commercetransaction, a request for a purchase card product having a statedvalue, the purchase card product having a product identifier, such as aSKU and/or a catalog identifier associated therewith, electronicallyprocessing credit card information, purchase order information, or acombination thereof, as a method of payment for the purchase cardproduct, and establishing a purchase card balance for the user accountin the amount of the stated value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived byreferring to the detailed description and claims when considered inconjunction with the following figures, wherein like reference numbersrefer to similar elements throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a purchase card systemconfigured in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are a flow diagram of an initial card purchase processaccording to an example embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a screen capture of an example web page that may be generatedby a purchase card system according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a screen capture of an example purchase card ordering web pagethat may be generated by a purchase card system according to theinvention;

FIG. 6 is a screen capture of an example shopping cart web page that maybe generated by a purchase card system according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a screen capture of an example purchase card maintenance webpage that may be generated by a purchase card system according to theinvention;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a product purchase process according to anexample embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a screen capture of an example checkout web page that may begenerated by a purchase card system according to the invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a value replenishment process according toan example embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a card sharing process according to anexample embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 12 is a screen capture of an example card sharing web page that maybe generated by a purchase card system according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is merely illustrative in nature andis not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses ofthe invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by anyexpressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field,background, brief summary or the following detailed description.

The invention may be described herein in terms of functional and/orlogical block components and various processing steps. It should beappreciated that such block components may be realized by any number ofhardware, software, and/or firmware components configured to perform thespecified functions. For example, an embodiment of the invention mayemploy various computer hardware or integrated circuit components, e.g.,server architectures, data communication elements, memory elements,logic elements, look-up tables, or the like, which may carry out avariety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors orother control devices. In addition, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the present invention may be practiced in conjunctionwith any number of data transmission protocols, network architectures,and e-commerce applications, and that the system described herein ismerely one exemplary application for the invention.

For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques related to e-commerceapplications, email systems, Internet data communication protocols andtechnologies, signaling, network control, and other functional aspectsof the systems (and the individual operating components of the systems)may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting linesshown in the various figures contained herein are intended to representexample functional relationships and/or physical couplings between thevarious elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships or physical connections may be present in apractical embodiment.

The following description refers to components or features being“connected” or “coupled” together. As used herein, unless expresslystated otherwise, “connected” means that one component/feature isdirectly or indirectly connected to another component/feature, and notnecessarily mechanically. Likewise, unless expressly stated otherwise,“coupled” means that one component/feature is directly or indirectlycoupled to another component/feature, and not necessarily mechanically.Thus, although the schematic shown in FIG. 1 depicts one examplearrangement of elements, additional intervening elements, devices,features, or components may be present in an actual embodiment (assumingthat the functionality of the overall system is not adversely affected).

The invention can be deployed in the context of an e-commerce systemmaintained by an entity that offers goods and/or services via onlinepurchasing. The invention is suitable for use in connection with theonline offering of life sciences research products and services, such asthose available for purchase on the worldwide web at invitrogen.com(incorporated by reference in its entirety). Life sciences researchproducts and services include, without limitation: antibodies; clonecollections; cloning tools and technologies; electrophoresis products,such as gels; enzymes; laboratory services; gene expression tools andtechnologies; genome analysis tools and technologies; bioinformaticssoftware; drug discovery tools and technologies; molecular probes; PCRand RT-PCR tools and technologies; protein interaction products;purification products; RNAi products; sequencing products; transfectionand molecular transfer products, such as reagents; transformationproducts; reagents; proteomics tools and technologies; cell cultureproducts; and primers. These and other life sciences research productsand services are available from Invitrogen Corporation. Briefly, ane-commerce system configured in accordance with the invention issuitably configured to offer purchase card products to online customers,where such purchase cards can be used as a method of payment for lifesciences research products and/or services offered by a manufacturer orreseller of such life sciences research and/or services products.

As used herein, the term “customer” refers to any individual,institution, corporation, university, business entity, academic entity,or organization seeking to obtain products and/or services, such as lifesciences research products and/or services.

As used herein, the term “provider” refers to any individual,institution, corporation, university, business entity, academic entity,or organization seeking to provide products and/or services, such aslife sciences research products and/or services. A provider can be, forexample, a manufacturer, retailer, reseller, distributor, or vendor.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a purchase card system 100configured in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention. Inthe preferred embodiment, purchase card system 100 is deployed in thecontext of an online e-commerce system, where any number of remote userscan purchase products via a web site maintained by a business entity. Inthis regard, FIG. 1 depicts an imaginary line 102 that generally dividespurchase card system 100 into two sections. The section to the right ofline 102 includes physical and logical components or features that aremaintained, owned, controlled, and/or operated by the business entity,while the section to the left of line 102 represents physical andlogical components or features corresponding to a customer site,location, or facility.

Purchase card system 100 generally includes one or more customercomputer devices 104 (such as personal computers), each of which isconnected to a data communication network (such as the Internet 106 inthis example) to facilitate online transactions as described herein.Purchase card system 100 may also include a number of business entitycomponents, including, without limitation: an email server 108; ane-commerce server 110; a business management server 112; and variousinventory, packing, and shipping systems 114, which may include anynumber of additional servers, computer devices, or related equipment. Inthis example, email server 108 and e-commerce server 110 are eachconnected to the Internet 106 to facilitate bi-directional communicationwith customer computer devices 104. Purchase card system 100 may furtherinclude a number of business entity databases, including, withoutlimitation: a product catalog identifier database (depicted as an SKUdatabase 116); a purchase card balance sharing database 118; and apurchase card record database 120. For purposes of this example only,these databases are coupled to e-commerce server 110. It should beappreciated that a practical system may employ a different database andserver architecture than that shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, customer computer devices 104, email server 108, e-commerceserver 110, business management server 112, and possibly certain aspectsof inventory, packing, and shipping systems 114 represent physicalhardware components, virtual machines, or logical components. Any givenserver may be a computing device or a computer system configured toperform the respective server application tasks described herein (andpossibly other tasks), while customer computer devices 104 may bepersonal computers configured to perform tasks associated withconventional end user applications, such as web browser applications. Ina practical deployment, the business entity components may communicatewith one another via a suitably configured network architecture.

A “server” is often defined as a computing device or system configuredto perform any number of functions and operations associated with themanagement, processing, storage, retrieval, and/or delivery of data,particularly in a network environment. Alternatively, a “server” or“server application” may refer to software that performs such processes,methods, and/or techniques. In practical applications, a servercomponent that supports purchase card system 100 may be configured inaccordance with any known computer platform, e.g., Compaq Alpha Tru64,FreeBSD, HP-UX, IBM AIX, Linux, NCR MP-RAS, SCO OpenServer, SCOUnixware, SGI Irix, Solaris (Sparc), Solaris (Intel), Windows 2000,Windows NT, or Novell Netware. As in most commercially available generalpurpose servers, a practical server component that supports purchasecard system 100 may be configured to run on any suitable operatingsystem such as Unix, Linux, the Apple Macintosh OS, or any variant ofMicrosoft Windows, and it may employ any number of microprocessordevices, e.g., the Pentium family of processors by Intel or theprocessor devices commercially available from Advanced Micro Devices,IBM, Sun Microsystems, or Motorola.

With regard to customer computer devices 104 and the various serversdescribed herein, the respective processors communicate with systemmemory (e.g., a suitable amount of random access memory), and anappropriate amount of storage or “permanent” memory. The permanentmemory may include one or more hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROM,DVD-ROM, magnetic tape, removable media, solid state memory devices, orcombinations thereof. In accordance with known techniques, the operatingsystem programs and the server application programs reside in thepermanent memory and portions thereof may be loaded into the systemmemory during operation. In accordance with the practices of personsskilled in the art of computer programming, the present invention isdescribed herein with reference to symbolic representations ofoperations that may be performed by the various server components or theclient components. Such operations are sometimes referred to as beingcomputer-executed, computerized, software-implemented, orcomputer-implemented. It will be appreciated that operations that aresymbolically represented include the manipulation by the variousmicroprocessor devices of electrical signals representing data bits atmemory locations in the system memory, as well as other processing ofsignals. The memory locations where data bits are maintained arephysical locations that have particular electrical, magnetic, optical,or organic properties corresponding to the data bits.

When implemented in software, various elements of the present invention(which may reside at the client computer devices 104, or at one or moreof the business entity components, particularly the servers) areessentially the code segments or instructions that perform the varioustasks. The program or code segments can be stored in aprocessor-readable medium or transmitted by a computer data signalembodied in a carrier wave over a transmission medium or communicationpath. The “processor-readable medium” or “machine-readable medium” mayinclude any medium that can store or transfer information. Examples ofthe processor-readable medium include an electronic circuit, asemiconductor memory device, a ROM, a flash memory, an erasable ROM(EROM), a floppy diskette, a CD-ROM, an optical disk, a hard disk, afiber optic medium, a radio frequency (RF) link, or the like. Thecomputer data signal may include any signal that can propagate over atransmission medium such as electronic network channels, optical fibers,air, electromagnetic paths, or RF links. The code segments may bedownloaded via computer networks such as the Internet, an intranet, aLAN, or the like.

E-commerce server 110 includes an e-commerce application 122, whichrepresents the main processing engine for purchase card system 100.Generally, the e-commerce engine is configured to generate web pages tofacilitate online purchases of life sciences research and servicesproducts for user accounts, and to facilitate online purchases ofpurchase card products for user accounts. E-commerce application 122 issuitably configured to generate an e-commerce web site for the businessentity, where the e-commerce web site may include any number of webpages designed to support traditional e-commerce functionality andadditional functionality described herein. In this regard, e-commerceapplication 122 may generate and transmit web pages, via the Internet106, to conventional web browser applications running on customercomputer devices 104. These web pages preferably enable an onlinecustomer to browse the online product catalog of the business entity,create an online account profile, select products for purchase, completeonline purchase transactions, view order history, and perform othertasks normally associated with online e-commerce applications. Inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, e-commerceapplication 122 also generates web pages that enable an online customerto buy purchase card products, and to apply a purchase card balance as amethod of payment toward subsequent online product purchases. Asdescribed in more detail below, e-commerce application 122 may also beconfigured to generate web pages that support other features of purchasecard system 100, such as purchase card balance replenishment andpurchase card balance sharing.

SKU database 116 includes product catalog identifiers (typically aseries of alphanumeric characters) that uniquely identify all of theproducts available through e-commerce application 122 (and possiblyother products that are only available through traditional orderingroutes). Notably, SKU database 116 also includes product catalogidentifiers corresponding to purchase card products available throughe-commerce application 122. In the example embodiment of the invention,purchase card products having different initial values are offered toonline customers, and each of the different initial values is identifiedby a unique product catalog identifier. For example, purchase cardproducts having initial values of $500, $750, $1000, $1500, $2000, and$2500 would be identified by six different product catalog identifiers.In addition, e-commerce application 122 is preferably configured tooffer different replenishment amounts for active purchase card products,and each replenishment value is identified by a unique product catalogidentifier. In accordance with one practical embodiment, replenishmentvalues of $500, $750, $1000, $1500, $2000, and $2500 would be identifiedby the same product catalog identifiers utilized for initial cardpurchases. In an alternate embodiment, replenishment values of $500,$750, $1000, $1500, $2000, and $2500 would be identified by sixdifferent product catalog identifiers (resulting in a total of 12different product catalog identifiers associated with purchase cardproducts). It will be understood that the purchase cards are used topurchase products that cost up to the value of a purchase card, or to beapplied toward the purchase of a product that costs more than the valueof a purchase card. In certain exemplary methods, the purchase cards areused to purchase products whose value is equal to or less than one-half,one-third, one-fourth, one-fifth, one-tenth, or one-twentieth of thevalue of the purchase card. In certain exemplary embodiments, at least2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 75, or 100transactions are processed using a single purchase card.

Purchase card balance sharing database 118 includes informationassociated with the sharing of purchase card balances maintained bypurchase card system 100. As described in more detail below, the initialpurchaser of a purchase card product is considered the primary user ofthat purchase card product. In accordance with one practical embodimentof the invention, the primary user can share the purchase card balancewith one or more secondary users. In this regard, purchase card balancesharing database 118 may store information that links primary users tosecondary users, secondary user purchase information accessible by theprimary users, data related to the establishment and activation ofaccount sharing, and the like.

Card record database 120 includes data for purchase card products thathave active (and possibly inactive) balances. For example, in apractical deployment of purchase card system 100, each purchase cardproduct may be assigned a unique card number upon activation, and eachcard number may have an associated card record maintained in card recorddatabase 120. A card record may contain any number of data fields,including, without limitation: the card number; the date of initialpurchase; the name of the purchaser; the username and password of thepurchaser; the initial balance; the current balance; a historical recordof prior products and/or services purchased; the date of anyreplenishment purchases; a nickname for the card; a funding sourceidentifier for the card; or the like. One or more of these fields may beupdated to reflect transactions made with the purchase card product.

Email server 108 may operate in a conventional manner to receive,transmit, and process email for purchase card system 100. For example,email server 108 may be employed to send purchase confirmation emails tocustomers, to receive inquiries form customers, or to facilitateactivation of user accounts or account features for purchase card system100. Thus, email server 108 may be coupled to e-commerce server 110 andto the Internet 106 to facilitate email transmission with onlinecustomers. It should be appreciated that the operating details of emailsystems are known to those skilled in the art and, therefore, will notbe addressed herein.

Business management server 112 includes a business managementapplication 124, which is suitably configured to perform a number offunctions in support of purchase card system 100 and e-commerceapplication 122. For example, business management application 124 mayperform or facilitate any of the following functions, withoutlimitation: order processing; accounting; and creation and maintenanceof deferred revenue accounts. Furthermore, business management server112 may communicate with one or more of the inventory, packing, andshipping systems 114 to monitor, control, or initiate the updating ofinventory databases, the packing of purchased product, and the shippingof purchased product to the intended recipients. In the exampleembodiment, the business entity maintains an inventory system for lifesciences research products and services and purchase card productsavailable for purchase via e-commerce application 122. FIG. 1 depictspurchased product 126 being transferred from the custody of the businessentity to the customer via a suitable shipping mechanism 128. Notably,purchased product 126 may represent a tangible purchase card productthat is shipped to the primary user (e.g., the initial purchaser) andotherwise treated like any other product in the inventory.

Purchase Card Product Features

As alluded to above, purchase card system 100, in certain illustrativeembodiments, is designed to offer purchase card products suitable foruse by purchasers of life sciences research products and services thatmay be funded by research grants or other subsidized funding sources,such as government, academic, and certain corporate organizations.Purchase card system 100 is designed to offer such purchase cardproducts for sale, to establish and maintain purchase card balances inconnection with online user account profiles, process e-commercetransactions for online purchases made with purchase card balances, andoffer other features that comply with applicable procurement, spending,and appropriations rules, regulations, and laws, and restrictions. Thefollowing is a summary of several features and functions of purchasecard system 100 and/or purchase card products handled by purchase cardsystem 100.

Product SKU—In illustrative embodiments of the invention, a purchasecard product according to the invention is offered, marketed, andotherwise treated like any other tangible product by the offeringbusiness entity. In this regard, the purchase card product includes aproduct catalog identifier, e.g., an SKU number, associated therewith.As mentioned above, purchase card products having different initialvalues (e.g., $500, $750, $1000, $1500, $2000, and $2500) are identifiedwith different unique SKUs. Different replenishment values for existingpurchase card products are identified with the same set of SKUs. Thus,purchase card system 100 and the related business entity can processsales of purchase card products and replenishments in the same manner asany other product. Furthermore, this feature is particularly importantto enable purchase card system 100 to satisfy a number of regulatoryrequirements imposed upon U.S. government procurements. For example,purchase cards products are sold as “commercial” items as defined by theFederal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”), Part 12. As a result, thestandard terms and conditions of any government acquisition for thepurchase of a commercial item apply to the sale of such purchase cards.

Shipping of Purchase Card Product—In certain embodiments, purchase cardproducts according to the present invention are “virtual” in that thereis no physical product that corresponds to the purchase card product.Rather, a unique identifier, which is distinct from the product SKUnumber, can be used, for example, to identify the purchase card product,without the need for shipping a physical product. Accordingly, a uniqueidentifier number can be electronically delivered to a user or purchaserof the purchase card. In certain illustrative embodiments, however,purchase card products according to the invention are shipped to thecustomer as a tangible product. Purchase card system 100 may utilizeinventory, packing, and shipping systems 114 to facilitate shipping ofthe purchase card products. In one practical embodiment of theinvention, purchase card products are sized to resemble a credit card,but they have no functional features or electromagnetic characteristics(in some embodiments, a purchase card product might include imprintedinstructions for use, an imprinted card number, an imprinted accountnumber, an imprinted user name, or the like). Purchase card products arepreferably shipped with a printed reconciliation document to facilitateprocurement system intake procedures by the purchasing customer or thepurchasing business entity. The reconciliation document allows thepurchasing entity to receive the purchase card products into itsstandard procurement system. In practice, the reconciliation documentmay be an invoice, a packing slip, a purchase order confirmation, or thelike. These features are particularly important for government buyerswho, in order to meet certain government requirements, must receive adeliverable product in exchange for the government expenditure.

Online Transactions—In accordance with the exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the business entity only offers purchase card products onlinevia e-commerce application 122, and restricts subsequent purchases madewith purchase card balances to online purchases via e-commerceapplication 122. Thus, in the preferred embodiment, purchase card system100 will not accept a purchase card balance as a method of payment fortelephone, facsimile, email, or written orders. These restrictionsencourage customers to use e-commerce application 122 for productpurchases, which can lead to increased revenue for the business entity,streamlined order processing, recapturing of market share for low-marginproducts, enhanced customer loyalty, and other benefits for both thebusiness entity and the customers.

Unrestricted Access—In illustrative embodiments, purchase card system100 generally allows purchase card product holders to apply theirpurchase card balances toward any product or product line that wouldotherwise be available via e-commerce application 122. In other words, apurchase card balance need not be restricted to any particular product,product line, or product type. In addition, a purchase card balance maybe accessible 24 hours a day, thus enabling product purchases at theconvenience of the customer. Furthermore, the e-commerce nature ofpurchases using the purchase card provides real-time access to purchasecard balance information and real-time approval or rejection of apurchase using a purchase card. Accordingly, in illustrative embodimentsthe purchase card balance is maintained in real time and is accessiblein real-time by purchase card product holders. Therefore, inillustrative embodiments there is no delay in the processing of apurchase under a purchase card and updating of a balance of the purchasecard, other than the time required to process an e-commerce transaction.Accordingly, where multiple users share a purchase card account, each ofthe users can access the current purchase card balance, regardless ofwhether another user made a purchase under the purchase card recently,for example within the previous 24, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.25, 0.2, or 0.1 hours, or within the previous 60, 50,40, 30, 20, 15, 10, 5, 4, 2, 3, or 1 minutes. Of course, depending uponthe particular customer or customer entity, product offerings might belimited or restricted by agreement. For example, NIH product offeringsmay be limited to only those items that are approved for sale under anNIH Blanket Purchase Agreement. In certain embodiments, the purchasecard balance is used to purchase life sciences research products andservices other than, or in addition to, oligonucleotides and/or theirsynthesis.

Online Management—The primary holder of a purchase card product canmanage purchase card balance(s) using an online account profile. Forexample, e-commerce application 122 may be suitably configured togenerate a summary web page that identifies each purchase card numberand its corresponding balance, and provides cardholder access to orderand transaction history for each active purchase card product (andpossibly inactive purchase card products). In addition, purchase cardsystem 100 may allow the cardholder to identify purchase card balancesusing nicknames, government funding source identifiers, grant numbers,contract numbers, or the like. This feature is desirable to enable thecardholder to quickly identify the source of funds corresponding to agiven purchase card balance, thus preventing misapplication of funds.Indeed, purchase card system 100 may be suitably configured to allow thepurchaser to earmark the source of purchase card balance funds and toautomatically prevent cross-use of funds.

Security and Prevention of Misuse of Funds—In the practical embodimentof the invention, as an added security measure, purchase card productsare not shipped with their card numbers. In addition, a given cardnumber is linked to the customer's online account profile, which canonly be accessed via a secure online login procedure (using, e.g., aunique combination of a username and a password for the online account).Thus, the mere knowledge of a purchase card number is insufficient togain access to the online account and, therefore, insufficient to obtainpurchasing power. In practice, the purchase card records can becentrally stored and controlled by the business entity using any numberof physical and electronic security systems for protection. Thesesecurity features are particularly important to satisfy governmentconcerns related to the proper use of government funds and theprevention of misuse of government funds.

Micro-Purchase Qualification—In accordance with the example embodimentof the invention, the maximum initial value for new purchase cardproducts and the maximum replenish value for existing purchase cardbalances qualifies as a “micro-purchase” as defined by the FederalAcquisition Regulation (“FAR”). Currently, the micro-purchase thresholdis $2500. Briefly, purchases that are less than or equal to themicro-purchase threshold may be transacted using the simplifiedacquisition procedures set forth in FAR Subpart 13.3, namely, thepurchaser need not obtain competitive bids from multiple vendors for theproduct. In practice, the authority to make micro-purchases isfrequently delegated to non-procurement personnel of a government agencyor organization, thus facilitating more efficient and streamlined use ofpurchase card system 100. Therefore, setting an upper limit on purchasecard product values is particularly important for government buyers whomust comply with FAR. In a practical embodiment, the total runningbalance of a given purchase card product may include any number ofreplenishment purchases, and the total running balance need not belimited.

Purchase Card Balance Sharing—A customer or a customer entity may wantto provide shared purchasing power for a purchase card product.Accordingly, purchase card system 100 is preferably configured tofacilitate sharing of card balances. In this regard, purchase cardsystem 100 allows the primary cardholder to control shared access rightsto a purchase card balance such that other people having an onlineaccount profile with the offering business entity can use the samepurchase card balance for product purchases. In accordance with onepractical embodiment of the invention, purchase card system 100restricts the shared users (referred to herein as secondary users orsecondary cardholders) such that shared users can only spend thepurchase card funds. In other words, purchase card system 100 does notallow secondary users to replenish purchase card balances or establishfurther sharing rights with other persons.

Maximizing Fiscal Year Budgets—Purchase card system 100 allows acustomer to utilize existing budget funds and maximize the use of suchfunds. Otherwise, funds allocated for a current budget might be lost.For example, a customer can acquire a purchase card product using fundsfrom the current fiscal year, then use the purchase card balance onproduct purchased in the next fiscal year.

Reduction in Administrative Purchase Fees—Certain purchasers, especiallypurchasers at large institutions, such as those with separate accountingdepartments, for example, government purchasers, certain academicpurchasers, and certain corporate purchasers, may be assessed anadministrative fee for product purchases made with a purchase order or arecord of call. Such administrative fees are levied by the respectivegovernment agency or organization, and such administrative fees do notappear on the invoice from the business entity that actually suppliesthe product. Typically, each separate purchase order or record of calltriggers the administrative fee process. Purchase card system 100 issuitably configured to avoid administrative fees payable by a cardholderbecause only one single purchase order or record of call need becompleted for a given purchase card product. Subsequent productpurchases using the purchase card balance as a method of payment can becompleted without a new purchase order or a new record of call.Furthermore, purchase card balance replenishments can be treated as amodification to an existing purchase order or record of call (in lieu ofa new purchase order or record of call), thus avoiding administrativefees for replenishments. To further reduce the impact of administrativefees, e-commerce application 122 may be configured to recommend a creditcard as the method of payment for purchase card products. Notably, thecustomer or the customer entity would be responsible for properlyhandling and characterizing the procurement of purchase card productsand replenishments.

Limited Purchase Card Lifespan—In accordance with one practicalembodiment of the invention, a purchase card balance remains active fora limited time, e.g., two years from the date of purchase. Upondeactivation of a purchase card balance, purchase card system 100 mayattempt to contact the primary user, the respective business entity, orthe respective government organization or agency to determine how bestto process the unused funds. For example, purchase card system 100 mayinitiate a balance refund procedure to avoid misuse or loss ofgovernment funds.

Refundable Purchase Card Balance—In accordance with the exampleembodiment of the invention, government purchasers may redeem a purchasecard balance for a refund at any time. Although the offering businessentity need not be obligated to return all of the unused funds at theend of the fiscal year, it is desirable (from a federal appropriationsstandpoint) to make unused purchase card balances readily available forrefunds upon request from government cardholders. Refunds are processedin the manner in which the purchase card balance was procured. Forexample, if a credit card was used to acquire the purchase card product,then a credit to the credit card account will be issued. If a purchaseorder or record of call was used to acquire the purchase card product,then the appropriate agency appropriation account will issued therefund. In practice, the purchase card product itself and/or thepaperwork accompanying the delivery of the purchase card product maycontain a written statement that confirms the redeemable nature of thepurchase card balance for government buyers. This feature isparticularly important for government buyers, who might otherwise berestricted from using nonrefundable purchase card products. Morespecifically, this feature is desirable to facilitate governmentcompliance with the Anti-Deficiency Act.

“Fair and Reasonable” Pricing—The Anti-Deficiency Act mandates thatgovernment buyers are expected to only buy products that are fair andreasonably priced. The establishment of SKU numbers, and automaticallydefaulting the customer to their lowest available price satisfies the“fair and reasonable” requirement. In this regard, purchase card system100 directly links the use of purchase card products to deliverableproducts that are identified by SKU numbers and fair and reasonable listprices.

Example Purchase Card Product Transactions

The following is a description of typical purchase card procurement andusage scenarios supported by purchase card system 100. The followingdescription is not intended to be exhaustive of all possible processingoptions and those skilled in the art will appreciate that manyadditional and/or alternative features, options, and protocols may beutilized in a practical deployment of purchase card system 100.

Initial Card Purchase—FIGS. 2 and 3 contain a flow diagram of an initialcard purchase process 200 according to an example embodiment of theinvention. Process 200 assumes that the purchaser (referred to herein asthe primary user) has already established an online profile ande-commerce account with the business entity offering the purchase cardproducts. The various tasks performed in connection with process 200 maybe performed by software, hardware, firmware, or any combinationthereof. For illustrative purposes, the following description of process200 may refer to elements mentioned above in connection with FIG. 1. Inpractical embodiments, portions of process 200 may be performed bydifferent elements of purchase card system 100, e.g., customer computerdevices 104 or any of the business entity components. It should beappreciated that process 200 may include any number of additional oralternative tasks, the tasks shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 need not beperformed in the illustrated order, and process 200 may be incorporatedinto a more comprehensive procedure or process having additionalfunctionality not described in detail herein.

Initial card purchase process 200 may begin by performing a secure loginprocedure (task 202) to access the customer's online account or profile.In a practical embodiment, e-commerce application 122 may generate asuitable web page that allows the customer to enter login data atcustomer computer device 104. In this regard, FIG. 4 is a screen captureof an example web page 400 that may be generated by purchase card system100 to facilitate task 202. As shown, web page 400 preferably includes ausername data entry field 402 and a password data entry field 404 forreceiving the respective information from the customer. In accordancewith known authentication techniques, web page 400 includes a “login”button or link 406 that functions to transmit the login data toe-commerce application 122 for processing.

Assuming that the login is successful, the customer can access apurchase card product web page via a suitable link 408, which may berendered on web page 400 or on another web page generated by e-commerceapplication 122 in response to task 202. Activation of link 408 mayprompt the display of another web page that facilitates the ordering ofone or more purchase card products. Initial card purchase process 200supports the selection of different card values and quantities ofdifferent purchase card products (task 204). FIG. 5 is a screen captureof an example purchase card ordering web page 500 that may be generatedby purchase card system 100 in connection with initial card purchaseprocess 200. Web page 500 enables the customer to initiate, via ane-commerce transaction, a request for a purchase card product having astated value. As mentioned above, a purchase card product offered bypurchase card system 100 preferably includes a product catalogidentifier associated therewith, and purchase card system 100 preferablyoffers a plurality of purchase card products having different initialvalues. Thus, web page 500 may include a list 502 of the differentpurchase card products available for purchase, along with theirrespective product catalog identifiers and initial values. Web page 500may also include quantity entry fields 504 that allow the customer toselect card values and quantities for purchase. After selection of thepurchase card products, the customer can activate an “order” button 506to add the selected entries to the current e-commerce transaction.

If the customer is ready for checkout (query task 206), then initialcard purchase process 200 may display a checkout or shopping cart webpage at customer computer device 104. In this regard, FIG. 6 is a screencapture of an example shopping cart web page 600 that may be generatedby purchase card system 100 to facilitate completion of the onlinetransaction. In this example, the customer has selected five purchasecard products, each having an initial value of $2500, for a total priceof $12500. Notably, each of the $2500 purchase card products may beidentified by the same product catalog identifier “EXP2500.” The lineitem entry for the purchase card products is identified by referencenumber 602. At checkout, the customer is prompted to select a method ofpayment for the purchase card products (task 208). In the exampleembodiment, the customer has the option to select a credit card, apurchase order, or (where a corporate contract is in place such as aBlanket Purchase Agreement) a record of call as a method of payment.After selecting the method of payment, the customer can then confirm theorder to initiate completion of the transaction (task 210) at customercomputer device 104. In response to the completion of the transaction,e-commerce server 110 may receive a suitably formatted request for thepurchase card product. Notably, if the customer issues a purchase orderfor the purchase card product, then the funds are immediately obligatedto the business entity offering the purchase card products.

In response to the completion of the transaction, the business entitycomponents process the request in a suitable manner. For example,e-commerce application 122 and/or business management application 124may be prompted to electronically process credit card information,purchase order information, or a combination thereof in connection withthe sale of purchase card product. In connection with such processing,business management application 124 may create or update a deferredrevenue account (task 212) to reflect the value of any purchase cardproducts contained in the order. Such updating is important forcompliance with certain accounting regulations and laws related torevenue recognition and reporting requirements. In addition, e-commerceapplication 122 and/or business management application 124 may initiatespecial processing and handling for purchase card products (task 214).For example, purchase card products are sold without imposing any salestaxes, and purchase card products are shipped to the customer withoutany associated freight or shipping charges.

E-commerce application 122 and/or business management application 124may create a card record (or records) corresponding to any purchase cardproduct contained in the customer's order. As described above, purchasecard system 100 may store such card records in a suitably configuredcard record database 120, and a card record may include a number of dataitems related to the particular purchase card product. For example,initial card purchase process 200 may establish unique card numbers foreach purchase card product contained in the customer's order (task 216).Process 200 may also establish and maintain card balances for eachpurchase card product contained in the order (task 218). For initialcard purchases, the beginning card balance will equal the stated valueand will equal the amount paid for the purchase card product. Inaccordance with one practical embodiment of the invention, the customeris able to identify each purchase card product by a nickname, a contractnumber, a government funding source identifier, or other card identifierthat is stored with the card records. Thus, process 200 may also createor update a card identifier database (task 220) to reflect such cardidentifiers.

In the example embodiment of the invention, the purchase card productbalance is immediately available to the customer upon processing of theorder. Consequently, initial card purchase process 200 initiates linkingof new card numbers to the respective online user account profile toestablish the new purchase card balances as a payment option forsubsequent product purchases (task 222). In practice, the next time thecustomer logs into his or her online account, the purchase card balanceswill be displayed as an optional method of payment in connection with acheckout web page (described in more detail below).

In connection with the completion of the initial purchase transaction,e-commerce application 122 may generate a suitable confirmation web pagefor display at customer computer device 104 (task 224). The confirmationweb page may contain a purchase order number, an invoice number, andother information. In accordance with one practical embodiment of theinvention, the confirmation web page also contains the purchase cardnumbers for any purchase card product contained in the customer's order.In addition, the confirmation web page may inform the customer that thepurchase card product is being shipped and that the stated value of thecard is now available for use in connection with the customer's onlineaccount profile. Alternatively or additionally, email server 108 cansend a confirmation email to one or more email addresses associated withthe customer's online account profile (task 224). The confirmation emailincludes the purchase card numbers for any purchase card productscontained in the customer's order. In this manner, the delivery of thecard numbers can be accomplished in a relatively secure and immediatefashion and the actual tangible purchase card products need not actuallybear the respective card numbers.

Finally, initial card purchase process 200 initiates shipping of thepurchase card product and a suitable reconciliation document to thepurchaser (task 226). In practice, inventory, packing, and shippingsystems 114 may perform some or all of the processing associated withtask 226. The actual shipping address may correspond to any authorized“ship-to” address for any person, business, or other entity contained inthe customer's online account profile. As mentioned above, thereconciliation document serves as a means for facilitating procurementsystem intake procedures by the recipient.

E-commerce application 122 is preferably configured to provide statusand maintenance information related to a user's purchase card productsand balances. In this regard, FIG. 7 is a screen capture of a purchasecard maintenance web page 700 that may be generated by purchase cardsystem 100 for display at customer computer device 104. Web page 700preferably includes a listing of all purchase card products for theprimary user. In this example, each purchase card product is identifiedby its card number, and web page 700 includes the following informationcorresponding to each card number: the identity of the primary user oran associated entity; a card nickname; and a current balance. Of course,other data or information may be displayed in a practical embodiment.Web page 700 also includes a drop down menu feature 702 that allows theprimary user to replenish or add funds to any of the listed purchasecard products. In addition, as described in more detail below, web page700 may include a link or button 704 for each listed purchase cardproduct to facilitate card balance sharing with secondary users.

Subsequent Product Purchase—FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a productpurchase process 800 according to an example embodiment of theinvention. Process 800 assumes that the primary user has alreadyobtained a purchase card product having an active purchase card balance.Process 800 may be performed to facilitate processing, via an e-commercetransaction, a product purchase for the user account. The various tasksperformed in connection with process 800 may be performed by software,hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. For illustrativepurposes, the following description of process 800 may refer to elementsmentioned above in connection with FIG. 1. In practical embodiments,portions of process 800 may be performed by different elements ofpurchase card system 100, e.g., customer computer devices 104 or any ofthe business entity components. It should be appreciated that process800 may include any number of additional or alternative tasks, the tasksshown in FIG. 8 need not be performed in the illustrated order, andprocess 800 may be incorporated into a more comprehensive procedure orprocess having additional functionality not described in detail herein.

Product purchase process 800 may begin by performing a secure loginprocedure (task 802) to access the customer's online account or profile.A typical login procedure was described above in connection with initialcard purchase process 200 and web page 400. In accordance withconventional e-commerce methodologies, the customer can select productsonline and initiate an online checkout procedure to complete thetransaction (task 804). In a practical embodiment of the invention,process 800 generates a suitable checkout web page that is capable ofdisplaying purchase card products, along with their respective cardbalances, as methods of payment for the currently selected products(task 806). In this regard, FIG. 9 is a screen capture of an examplecheckout web page 900 that may be generated by purchase card system 100for display at customer computer device 104. In this example, checkoutweb page 900 includes a drop down feature 902 that allows the customerto select a method of payment for the current transaction. Notably, dropdown feature 902 includes a purchase card option (identified by the termWEBEXPRESS™ in FIG. 9) along with traditional payment options such ascredit card or purchase order. In practice, if the customer selects thepurchase card option, process 800 may generate a new web page that liststhe purchase card balances available to the customer (similar to webpage 700 depicted in FIG. 7). This web page may receive a purchase cardbalance selection that identifies a given purchase card balance from thelist of available balances. Alternatively, the web page may receive apurchase card number selection that identifies a particular card balancefor the current transaction (task 808).

Assuming that the selected card balance is sufficient to cover the priceof the selected products, then product purchase process 800 applies theselected balance toward the purchase price to reflect the currenttransaction. Otherwise, process 800 may generate a notification thatreminds the customer to either replenish the selected card balance,select a new method of payment, or terminate the transaction. Of course,depending upon the specific implementation of purchase card system 100,a customer may be able to combine different methods of payment (e.g.,credit card and purchase card) and/or multiple purchase card balances aspayment toward a single product order. In the practical embodiment ofthe invention, the purchase card balance can be applied to the purchasewithout requiring a new purchase order or record of call for thepurchased product. Once the purchase card funds are applied toward thepurchase, process 800 initiates updating of the respective card recordto reflect the transaction (task 810). Task 810 preferably includesreducing the respective purchase card balance by the purchase price (ora portion of the purchase price as applicable) and linking a suitablerecord to the card number to facilitate online access to order historycorresponding to the card number.

Product purchase process 800 may control the generation of an invoice orother reconciliation document for shipment with the purchased product orfor separate shipment or delivery to the customer (task 812). Inpractice, the invoice is printed with a “do not pay” notice to remindthe customer that a purchase card balance was applied to the order. Inaccordance with conventional order handling methodologies, process 800initiates product shipping (task 814) to one or more authorized“ship-to” addresses associated with the online account profile.

Upon completion of the order, product purchase process 800 may initiatecertain accounting activity. For example, process 800 may initiate theupdating of one or more deferred revenue accounts and one or morerecognized revenue accounts to reflect the product purchase (task 816).As described above, unspent purchase card funds are treated as deferredrevenue, while purchase card funds spent on product are treated asrealized revenue. Following task 816, process 800 ends.

Card Balance Replenishment—FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a valuereplenishment process 1000 according to an example embodiment of theinvention. Process 1000 assumes that the primary user has alreadyobtained a purchase card product having an active purchase card balance.Process 1000 may be performed to handle a replenish request for apurchase card product. The various tasks performed in connection withprocess 1000 may be performed by software, hardware, firmware, or anycombination thereof. For illustrative purposes, the followingdescription of process 1000 may refer to elements mentioned above inconnection with FIG. 1. In practical embodiments, portions of process1000 may be performed by different elements of purchase card system 100,e.g., customer computer devices 104 or any of the business entitycomponents. It should be appreciated that process 1000 may include anynumber of additional or alternative tasks, the tasks shown in FIG. 10need not be performed in the illustrated order, and process 1000 may beincorporated into a more comprehensive procedure or process havingadditional functionality not described in detail herein.

Value replenishment process 1000 may begin by performing a secure loginprocedure (task 1002) to access the customer's online account orprofile. A typical login procedure was described above in connectionwith initial card purchase process 200 and web page 400. The customermay be prompted, via suitable web pages, to access a purchase cardmaintenance web page, such as web page 700, that displays the user'spurchase card products and current balances (task 1004). As mentionedabove, web page 700 preferably includes a drop down menu feature 702that allows the user to select an incremental replenish value for any ofthe existing purchase card products (task 1006). Again, each incrementalreplenish value preferably has a unique product catalog identifier orSKU associated therewith. In the example embodiment, the replenishvalues are identical to the initial values offered by purchase cardsystem 100. Web page 700 is suitably configured to enable the customerto replenish any number of the available card balances using a singletransaction.

If the customer is ready for checkout (query task 1008), then valuereplenishment process 1000 may display a checkout or shopping cart webpage at customer computer device 104. At checkout, the customer isprompted to select a method of payment for the card replenishment valuesand, if applicable, other products available via e-commerce application122 (task 1010). In the example embodiment, the customer has the optionto select a credit card or a purchase order number. In the preferredembodiment of the invention, purchase card system 100 allows a primaryuser to modify an existing purchase order as a method of payment forcard replenishments (in lieu of completing a new purchase order). Thus,if the customer selects an existing purchase order (query task 1012),then purchase card system 100 can process the transaction as amodification to the existing purchase order (task 1014). Otherwise,purchase card system 100 can complete the transaction (task 1016) in amanner similar to that described above in connection with initial cardpurchase process 200.

In connection with the filling of replenishment orders, businessmanagement application 124 may update the deferred revenue account (task1018) to reflect the stated value of any purchase card replenishmentscontained in the order. In addition, e-commerce application 122 and/orbusiness management application 124 may initiate updating of therespective card records to reflect the replenishment value (task 1020).Task 1020 preferably includes increasing the respective purchase cardbalances for the user account in the amount of the stated replenishvalues. In connection with the completion of the replenishmenttransaction, purchase card system 100 may generate a suitableconfirmation web page and/or send a confirmation email to the customer(task 1022). The confirmation may contain a purchase order number, aninvoice number, and other information. In accordance with one practicalembodiment of the invention, the confirmation also contains the purchasecard numbers for any purchase card product replenished in the customer'sorder. In addition, the confirmation may inform the customer that thereplenished value of the card is now available for use in connectionwith the customer's online account profile. Finally, value replenishmentprocess 1000 initiates shipping of a suitable reconciliation document tothe purchaser (task 1024). In practice, inventory, packing, and shippingsystems 114 may perform some or all of the processing associated withtask 1024. The actual shipping address may correspond to any authorized“ship-to” address for any person, business, or other entity contained inthe customer's online account profile. As mentioned above, thereconciliation document serves as a means for facilitating procurementsystem intake procedures by the recipient. Following task 1024, process1000 ends.

Card Sharing Procedures—FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a card sharingprocess 1100 according to an example embodiment of the invention.Process 1100 assumes that the primary user has already obtained apurchase card product having an active purchase card balance. Process1100 may be performed to process a share request for a primary user'spurchase card product, where the share request identifies a secondaryuser and initiates a link between the respective purchase card productand a secondary user account corresponding to the secondary user. Thevarious tasks performed in connection with process 1100 may be performedby software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Forillustrative purposes, the following description of process 1100 mayrefer to elements mentioned above in connection with FIG. 1. Inpractical embodiments, portions of process 1100 may be performed bydifferent elements of purchase card system 100, e.g., customer computerdevices 104 or any of the business entity components. It should beappreciated that process 1100 may include any number of additional oralternative tasks, the tasks shown in FIG. 11 need not be performed inthe illustrated order, and process 1100 may be incorporated into a morecomprehensive procedure or process having additional functionality notdescribed in detail herein.

Card sharing process 1100 may begin by performing a secure loginprocedure (task 1102) to access the customer's online account orprofile. A typical login procedure was described above in connectionwith initial card purchase process 200 and web page 400. The customermay be prompted, via suitable web pages, to access a card sharing webpage that displays sharing information for the primary user's purchasecard products and current balances (task 1104). In this regard, FIG. 12is a screen capture of an example card sharing web page 1200 that may begenerated by purchase card system 100 for display at customer computerdevice 104. Web page 1200 includes a purchase card status field 1202,which may include the card number, nickname, and current balance of theprimary user's purchase card product. Although web page 1200 depictsonly one purchase card associated with the primary user, any number ofdifferent purchase cards may be listed. Web page 1200 may also include acurrent share status field 1204, which may identify a secondary user byuser name and/or email address. Current share status field 1204 may alsoinclude the status associated with the secondary user, e.g., “sharingenabled” or “sharing disabled,” an active link or button 1206 thatenables the primary user to view and/or edit the purchase history of thesecondary user, and an active enable/disable link or button 1208 thatenables the primary user to enable or disable account sharing rights forthe identified secondary user. Although web page 1200 depicts sharingwith only one secondary user, purchase card system 100 is suitablyconfigured to support sharing with any number of secondary users.

Card sharing process 1100 preferably allows the primary user to select acard number to be shared (task 1106). In this regard, web page 1200 mayrepresent a web page generated in response to the selection of aspecific card number. To initiate the sharing process, the primary userenters an email address for the secondary user (task 1108). Web page1200 includes a data entry field 1210 that accommodates the entry of thesecondary user's email address. In this manner, the share requestidentifies the secondary user by the email address. In the exampleembodiment of the invention, e-commerce application 122 initiates thegeneration and sending of an appropriate email notification orinvitation by email server 108 to the secondary user (task 1110). Theemail may include instructions prompting activation of the share requestby the secondary user. In a practical implementation, the email containsan active link or element that initiates the activation procedure.

If the secondary user clicks the active link or otherwise agrees to theactivation of the card sharing feature, then card sharing process 1100may initiate the generation of an activation web page that directs thesecondary user to the appropriate e-commerce site maintained bye-commerce application 122 (task 1114). To prevent unintentionalsharing, the active link may be disabled once the secondary useraccesses e-commerce application 122. E-commerce application 122 may theninitiate a login (or online account creation) procedure for thesecondary user to facilitate secured activation of the card sharingfeature. If the secondary user already has an online profile withe-commerce application 122, then the existing username and password canbe used to access the activation web pages. At the activation web page,the secondary user may be prompted to accept the invitation to share thepurchase card balance. Acceptance of the invitation may result in thegeneration of an activation request by customer computer device 104,where e-commerce application 122 processes the activation request. Inresponse to the activation request, process 1100 may generate a suitableconfirmation message regarding the updated share status and secondaryuser access to the purchase card balance (task 1116). For example,process 1100 may generate a confirmation web page for the secondaryuser, generate and send a confirmation email to the secondary user, andgenerate and send a confirmation email to the primary user.

To complete the share activation, card sharing process 1100 links thepurchase card balance and/or the purchase card number to the secondaryuser account profile to establish the shared balance as a payment optionfor the secondary user (task 1118). Process 1100 may also update datamaintained in sharing database 118 and card record database 120.Furthermore, card sharing web page 1200 will be updated for the primaryuser to reflect the enabling of the shared balance with the invitedsecondary user. Such updating of web page 1200 may occur at the nextlogin by the primary user or when the primary user refreshes web page1200.

In accordance with the preferred practical embodiment of the invention,purchase card system 100 restricts the replenish and sharing rights ofsecondary users (task 1120). These restrictions enable the primary userto maintain control over the shared access to the card balances andprevents misuse of shared funds. For example, secondary users are unableto purchase replenishments for a shared card balance, and secondaryusers are unable to further share any card balances maintained byprimary users. In other words, secondary users are only able to makepurchases with shared card balances. Following task 1120, card sharingprocess 1100 ends. Subsequent purchases made by secondary users areprocessed as described above in connection with product purchase process800.

In summary, a purchase card system according to the invention, while notlimited to any particular customer base, is particularly suitable for abusiness entity having a customer base that includes government and/oracademic purchasers who are governed by certain ethical, legal,administrative, or regulatory rules and guidelines. Procurement and useof a purchase card product as described herein complies with mandatedprocurement, spending, and appropriations rules, regulations, and laws,which may be common in a grant funded research environment.Consequently, a purchase card system according to the invention isdesirable for use in connection with the sale of life sciences researchproducts and/or services to all life sciences researchers, includinggovernment and academic researchers. Systems, devices, and methodsconfigured in accordance with example embodiments of the inventionrelate to:

A method for facilitating purchase card product transactions for agovernment or academic user account in compliance with mandatedprocurement, spending, and appropriations rules, regulations, and laws,the method comprising: receiving, via an e-commerce transaction, arequest for a purchase card product having a stated value, the purchasecard product having a product catalog identifier associated therewith;electronically processing credit card information, purchase orderinformation, or a combination thereof, as a method of payment for thepurchase card product; and establishing a purchase card balance for theuser account in the amount of the stated value. The method may furthercomprise initiating shipment of the purchase card product and acorresponding reconciliation document to an entity associated with theuser account, the reconciliation document facilitating procurementsystem intake procedures by the entity. The method may further comprise:offering life sciences research products and services for purchase viathe e-commerce transaction; and processing, via a subsequent e-commercetransaction, a product purchase for the life sciences research productsand services. In one embodiment, establishing a purchase card balanceoccurs in a fiscal year of a government or academic institutionassociated with the government or academic user account; and processingthe product purchase occurs in a subsequent fiscal year of thegovernment or academic institution. The method may further compriseestablishing a maximum value for the stated value, the maximum valuequalifying as a “micro-purchase” as defined by the Federal AcquisitionRegulation. The method may further comprise creating a card record forthe purchase card product, the card record including a governmentfunding source identifier. The method may further comprise offering aplurality of stated values for the purchase card product, each of theplurality of stated values having a different product catalog identifierassociated therewith. The method may further comprise: processing, via asubsequent e-commerce transaction, a product purchase for the useraccount, the product purchase having a purchase price; applying thepurchase card balance toward the purchase price without requiring a newpurchase order or record of call for the product purchase; and reducingthe purchase card balance by the purchase price. The method may furthercomprise: generating a web page containing a listing of a plurality ofavailable purchase card balances for the user account; and receiving apurchase card balance selection that identifies the purchase cardbalance from the plurality of available purchase card balances. Themethod may further comprise automatically linking the user account touser-specific pricing for the product purchase, the automaticallylinking step being performed prior to the processing step. The methodmay further comprise: receiving, via a subsequent e-commercetransaction, a replenish request for the purchase card product, thereplenish request corresponding to a stated replenish value, the statedreplenish value having a replenish product catalog identifier associatedtherewith; and increasing the purchase card balance for the user accountin the amount of the stated replenish value. The method may furthercomprise modifying an existing purchase order to reflect payment for thestated replenish value. The method may further comprise establishing amaximum replenish value for the stated replenish value, the maximumreplenish value qualifying as a “micro-purchase” as defined by theFederal Acquisition Regulation. The method may further comprise offeringa plurality of stated replenish values for the purchase card product,each of the plurality of stated replenish values having a differentreplenish product catalog identifier associated therewith. The methodmay further comprise: receiving a share request for the purchase cardproduct, the share request identifying a secondary user; and linking thepurchase card balance to a secondary user account corresponding to thesecondary user. The method may further comprising restricting, for thesecondary user account, rights to share and replenish the purchase cardbalance. The method may further comprise: the share request identifyingthe secondary user by an email address of the secondary user; andsending, via the email address, an email invitation to the secondaryuser, the email invitation prompting activation of the share request bythe secondary user. The method may further comprise: receiving anactivation request in response to sending the email invitation; and thelinking step being performed in response to the activation request.

A method for facilitating purchase card transactions for a user account,the method comprising: offering an e-commerce purchase card for lifesciences research products and services, the e-commerce purchase cardhaving a stated value; maintaining a purchase card balance for the useraccount; and applying, via a subsequent e-commerce transaction for lifesciences research products or services having a purchase price, thepurchase card balance toward the purchase price; wherein offering thee-commerce purchase card and the subsequent e-commerce transaction arein compliance with mandated procurement, spending, and appropriationsrules, regulations, and laws. The applying step may comprise applyingthe purchase card balance toward the purchase price without requiring apurchase order or a record of call for the life science researchproducts or services. The method may further comprise initiatingshipment of the e-commerce purchase card and a correspondingreconciliation document to an entity associated with the user account,the reconciliation document facilitating procurement system intakeprocedures by the entity. The method may further comprise establishing amaximum value for the stated value, the maximum value qualifying as a“micro-purchase” as defined by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Themethod may further comprise establishing list pricing for the e-commercepurchase card, the list pricing qualifying as “fair and reasonable” asdefined by the Anti-Deficiency Act. The method may further comprise:receiving, via a subsequent e-commerce transaction, a replenish requestfor the e-commerce purchase card, the replenish request corresponding toa stated replenish value; and increasing the purchase card balance forthe user account in the amount of the stated replenish value. The methodmay further comprise modifying an existing purchase order to reflectpayment for the stated replenish value. The method may further compriseestablishing a maximum replenish value for the stated replenish value,the maximum replenish value qualifying as a “micro-purchase” as definedby the Federal Acquisition Regulation. In one embodiment, maintaining apurchase card balance occurs in a fiscal year of a government oracademic institution associated with the user account; and thesubsequent e-commerce transaction occurs in a subsequent fiscal year ofthe government or academic institution.

A method for facilitating purchase card transactions for life sciencesresearch products and services in compliance with mandated procurement,spending, and appropriations rules, regulations, and laws, the methodcomprising: ordering, via an e-commerce transaction for a user account,a purchase card product having a stated value, the stated valuequalifying as a “micro-purchase” as defined by the Federal AcquisitionRegulation; purchasing, via a subsequent e-commerce transaction, lifesciences research product or services for the user account, the lifesciences research product or services having a purchase price; andselecting the purchase card product as a method of payment toward thepurchase price without requesting a purchase order or a record of callfor the life sciences research product or services. The method mayfurther comprise ordering, via a second subsequent e-commercetransaction, a replenish value for the purchase card product, thereplenish value having a stated value, the stated value qualifying as a“micro-purchase” as defined by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Themethod may further comprise modifying an existing purchase order toreflect payment for the replenish value. The method may further comprisecompleting a share request for the purchase card product, the sharerequest identifying a secondary user, and the share request initiating alink between the purchase card product and a secondary user accountcorresponding to the secondary user. In one embodiment, ordering thepurchase card product occurs in a fiscal year of a government oracademic institution associated with the user account; and purchasingthe life sciences research product or services occurs in a subsequentfiscal year of the government or academic institution.

An e-commerce system for life sciences research products and services,the e-commerce system comprising: an e-commerce engine configured togenerate web pages to facilitate online purchases of life sciencesresearch products and services for user accounts, and to facilitateonline purchases of purchase card products for user accounts; aninventory system for life sciences research products and services andpurchase card products available for purchase via the e-commerce engine;and a purchase card balance database coupled to the e-commerce engineand configured to maintain purchase card balances corresponding topurchase card products for at least some of the user accounts; thee-commerce engine being further configured to process, via an e-commercetransaction, a life sciences research product or services purchase for auser account, the life sciences research product or services purchasehaving a purchase price, and to apply a purchase card balance for theuser account toward the purchase price without requiring a purchaseorder or a record of call for the life sciences research product orservices purchase. In one practical embodiment, the life sciencesresearch product or services purchase is in compliance with mandatedprocurement, spending, and appropriations rules, regulations, and laws.The e-commerce engine may be further configured to offer for purchase aplurality of purchase card products having different initial statedvalues, up to a maximum stated value that qualifies as a“micro-purchase” as defined by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Thee-commerce system may further comprise a product catalog identifierdatabase coupled to the e-commerce engine, each of the plurality ofpurchase card products having a different product catalog identifierassociated therewith and maintained in the product catalog identifierdatabase. The e-commerce engine may be further configured to offer forpurchase a plurality of purchase card replenishment products havingdifferent stated replenish values, up to a maximum stated replenishvalue that qualifies as a “micro-purchase” as defined by the FederalAcquisition Regulation. The e-commerce system may further comprise aproduct catalog identifier database coupled to the e-commerce engine,each of the plurality of purchase card replenishment products having adifferent product catalog identifier associated therewith and maintainedin the product catalog identifier database.

While at least one example embodiment has been presented in theforegoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vastnumber of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that theexample embodiment or embodiments described herein are not intended tolimit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in anyway. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide thoseskilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing thedescribed embodiment or embodiments. It should be understood thatvarious changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elementswithout departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for facilitating purchase card producttransactions for a user account in compliance with procurement,spending, and appropriations rules, regulations, and laws applicable tothe user account, said method comprising: receiving, via an e-commercetransaction, a request for a purchase card product having a statedvalue, said purchase card product having a product catalog identifierassociated therewith; electronically processing credit card information,purchase order information, or a combination thereof, as a method ofpayment for said purchase card product; and establishing a purchase cardbalance for said user account in the amount of said stated value.
 2. Amethod according to claim 1, further comprising initiating shipment ofsaid purchase card product to an entity associated with said useraccount.
 3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the purchase cardproduct is shipped with a corresponding reconciliation document, saidreconciliation document facilitating procurement system intakeprocedures by said entity.
 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein themethod facilitates transactions of a government or academic user.
 5. Amethod according to claim 1, further comprising: offering life sciencesresearch products and services for purchase via said e-commercetransaction; and processing, via a subsequent e-commerce transaction, aproduct purchase for said life sciences research products and services.6. A method according to claim 5, wherein: establishing a purchase cardbalance occurs in a fiscal year of a government or academic institutionassociated with the government or academic user account; and processingsaid product purchase occurs in a subsequent fiscal year of saidgovernment or academic institution.
 7. A method according to claim 1,further comprising establishing a maximum value for said stated value,said maximum value qualifying as a “micro-purchase” as defined by theFederal Acquisition Regulation.
 8. A method according to claim 1,further comprising creating a card record for said purchase cardproduct, said card record including a government funding sourceidentifier.
 9. A method according to claim 1, further comprisingoffering a plurality of stated values for said purchase card product,each of said plurality of stated values having a different productcatalog identifier associated therewith.
 10. A method according to claim1, further comprising: processing, via a subsequent e-commercetransaction, a product purchase for said user account, said productpurchase having a purchase price; applying said purchase card balancetoward said purchase price without requiring a new purchase order orrecord of call for said product purchase; and reducing said purchasecard balance by said purchase price.
 11. A method according to claim 10,further comprising: generating a web page containing a listing of aplurality of available purchase card balances for said user account; andreceiving a purchase card balance selection that identifies saidpurchase card balance from said plurality of available purchase cardbalances.
 12. A method according to claim 10, further comprisingautomatically linking said user account to user-specific pricing forsaid product purchase, said automatically linking step being performedprior to said processing step.
 13. A method according to claim 1,further comprising: receiving, via a subsequent e-commerce transaction,a replenish request for said purchase card product, said replenishrequest corresponding to a stated replenish value, said stated replenishvalue having a replenish product catalog identifier associatedtherewith; and increasing said purchase card balance for said useraccount in the amount of said stated replenish value.
 14. A methodaccording to claim 13, further comprising modifying an existing purchaseorder to reflect payment for said stated replenish value.
 15. A methodaccording to claim 13, further comprising establishing a maximumreplenish value for said stated replenish value, said maximum replenishvalue qualifying as a “micro-purchase” as defined by the FederalAcquisition Regulation.
 16. A method according to claim 13, furthercomprising offering a plurality of stated replenish values for saidpurchase card product, each of said plurality of stated replenish valueshaving a different replenish product catalog identifier associatedtherewith.
 17. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:receiving a share request for said purchase card product, said sharerequest identifying a secondary user; and linking said purchase cardbalance to a secondary user account corresponding to said secondaryuser.
 18. A method according to claim 17, further comprisingrestricting, for said secondary user account, rights to share andreplenish said purchase card balance.
 19. A method according to claim17, further comprising: said share request identifying said secondaryuser by an email address of said secondary user; and sending, via saidemail address, an email invitation to said secondary user, said emailinvitation prompting activation of said share request by said secondaryuser.
 20. A method according to claim 19, further comprising: receivingan activation request in response to sending said email invitation; andsaid linking step being performed in response to said activationrequest.
 21. A method for facilitating purchase card transactions for auser account, said method comprising: offering an e-commerce purchasecard for life sciences research products and services, said e-commercepurchase card having a stated value; maintaining a purchase card balancefor said user account; and applying, via a subsequent e-commercetransaction for life sciences research products or services having apurchase price, said purchase card balance toward said purchase price;wherein offering said e-commerce purchase card and said subsequente-commerce transaction are in compliance with procurement, spending, andappropriations rules, regulations, and laws applicable to the useraccount.
 22. A method according to claim 21, wherein said applying stepcomprises applying said purchase card balance toward said purchase pricewithout requiring a purchase order or a record of call for said lifescience research products or services.
 23. A method according to claim21, further comprising electronically delivering a unique identificationnumber to a user.
 24. A method according to claim 21, further comprisinginitiating shipment of said e-commerce purchase card to an entityassociated with said user account.
 25. A method according to claim 24,wherein a corresponding reconciliation document is shipped to the entityalong with the e-commerce purchase card, said reconciliation documentfacilitating procurement system intake procedures by said entity.
 26. Amethod according to claim 21, further comprising establishing a maximumvalue for said stated value, said maximum value qualifying as a“micro-purchase” as defined by the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
 27. Amethod according to claim 21, further comprising establishing listpricing for said e-commerce purchase card, said list pricing qualifyingas “fair and reasonable” as defined by the Anti-Deficiency Act.
 28. Amethod according to claim 21, further comprising: receiving, via asubsequent e-commerce transaction, a replenish request for saide-commerce purchase card, said replenish request corresponding to astated replenish value; and increasing said purchase card balance forsaid user account in the amount of said stated replenish value.
 29. Amethod according to claim 28, further comprising modifying an existingpurchase order to reflect payment for said stated replenish value.
 30. Amethod according to claim 28, further comprising establishing a maximumreplenish value for said stated replenish value, said maximum replenishvalue qualifying as a “micro-purchase” as defined by the FederalAcquisition Regulation.
 31. A method according to claim 21, wherein:maintaining a purchase card balance occurs in a fiscal year of agovernment or academic institution associated with the user account; andsaid subsequent e-commerce transaction occurs in a subsequent fiscalyear of said government or academic institution.
 32. A method accordingto claim 21, wherein said purchase card balance is maintained inreal-time.
 33. A method according to claim 32, wherein the purchase cardbalance is accessible in real-time to users of the user account.
 34. Amethod according to claim 21, wherein the offering comprises offeringlife sciences research products and/or services other thanoligonucleotides and/or their synthesis.
 35. A method according to claim21, wherein the offering comprises offering life sciences researchproducts and services comprising oligonucleotides and/or theirsynthesis.
 36. A method for facilitating purchase card transactions forlife sciences research products and services in compliance with mandatedprocurement, spending, and appropriations rules, regulations, and laws,said method comprising: ordering, via an e-commerce transaction for auser account, a purchase card product having a stated value, said statedvalue qualifying as a “micro-purchase” as defined by the FederalAcquisition Regulation; purchasing, via a subsequent e-commercetransaction, life sciences research product or services for said useraccount, said life sciences research product or services having apurchase price; and selecting said purchase card product as a method ofpayment toward said purchase price without requesting a purchase orderor a record of call for said life sciences research product or services.37. A method according to claim 36, further comprising ordering, via asecond subsequent e-commerce transaction, a replenish value for saidpurchase card product, said replenish value having a stated value, saidstated value qualifying as a “micro-purchase” as defined by the FederalAcquisition Regulation.
 38. A method according to claim 37, furthercomprising modifying an existing purchase order to reflect payment forsaid replenish value.
 39. A method according to claim 36, furthercomprising completing a share request for said purchase card product,said share request identifying a secondary user, and said share requestinitiating a link between said purchase card product and a secondaryuser account corresponding to said secondary user.
 40. A methodaccording to claim 36, wherein: ordering said purchase card productoccurs in a fiscal year of a government or academic institutionassociated with the user account; and purchasing said life sciencesresearch product or services occurs in a subsequent fiscal year of saidgovernment or academic institution.